Ann Street

Ann Street is an east-west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City which runs from Broadway to Gold Street. It is one of the oldest streets in the city, laid out in 1728 and named for the wife of developer Captain Thomas White. P.T. Barnum's American Museum was located on the corner of Ann Street, Vesey Street, Park Row, and Broadway during the 19th century. After the 11 December 1970 explosion of Ryan's Cafe due to a gas leak, a portion of the street became an empty lot which allowed for a rat infestation to occur, worsened by the city tugboat strike of 1979, which led to heaps of garbage forming along Ann Street. On 10 May 1979, a woman was attacked by a pack of rats as she entered her car on Ann Street, leading to Mayor Ed Koch launching a pest control operation which killed and trapped hundreds of rats in just a few days. In 2006, Ann Street was gutted and repaved to replace the water main, reducing the rat population and beautifying the area.